"Awakened power of the God of Thunder…"
Senju Haruto whispered the words in his heart, certain this was the same raging force that flowed through Thor—the power he truly awakened in Thor: Ragnarok. It wasn't enough to defeat Hela in the end, but even so, it was a strength beyond compare.
And now, the moment Haruto completed his system's check-in and received this divine force, he felt the hammer beneath his feet begin to hum faintly, resonating with the power coursing through his veins.
Could it be…?
Haruto frowned. He had always been confident that he could lift Mjolnir. After all, the reason most villains failed wasn't because of raw strength—it was because of Odin's enchantment. In the Marvel comics, the Serpent Goddess herself had rewritten Odin's spell, allowing her to lift the hammer.
And Haruto, as the Sorcerer Supreme, possessed more than enough power to alter such an enchantment if he wished. It wouldn't be easy, and it would break the rules, but in the end… what mattered was whether or not the hammer could be lifted. The how was secondary.
But this time… things felt different.
For the first time, Haruto had the strange certainty that even if he did absolutely nothing, he could still raise Mjolnir. As though, in that instant when he completed his check-in, the hammer had already recognized him.
Yet Haruto couldn't believe he was some kind of paragon of virtue. Only hours ago, he had slaughtered Wakanda's warriors and seized their kingdom for himself. What part of that was noble?
"…Might as well try it."
He didn't dwell on the thought for long. Whether or not he could lift it—he would only know by trying. Why waste time second-guessing?
Bending his waist slowly, Haruto stretched out his right hand. His fingers opened, reaching for the handle of Mjolnir.
The moment his hand moved, Coulson—and every single person present—instinctively held their breath.
Soon, Haruto's fingers brushed against the hammer. It was cold.
That was strange. Mjolnir had landed in the middle of New Mexico's barren desert, an empty stretch scorched under the blazing sun. Odin had likely chosen this spot deliberately—far from cities, far from innocents, where the hammer's presence would cause as little collateral damage as possible.
Here, the ground baked for hours under relentless heat. Yet Mjolnir remained cool to the touch, as if untouched by the desert's fury.
That intrigued Haruto. Uru metal, then… perhaps when he eventually set foot in Asgard, he could get his hands on more of it. They were destined to fall to Surtur's flames eventually, after all. And Odin's treasure vault… yes, he could always help himself when the time came.
As those thoughts flickered through his mind, Haruto's grip tightened around the handle.
There was no resistance. No unbearable weight pressing him down. In his hand, the hammer felt… light. Weightless.
Could it be…?
Drawing a deep breath, Haruto gathered strength into his arm and pulled.
Coulson's eyes bulged. His mouth fell open in shock.
The bystanders around them gawked, stunned speechless. A few fumbled with their phones, trying desperately to capture the scene unfolding before their eyes.
In just a few heartbeats, Haruto had lifted the hammer free of the dirt.
And then, with a swift motion, he raised Mjolnir high above his head.
At once, the sky above them darkened. Clouds swirled together, a storm gathering from nowhere, as if the heavens themselves were answering Haruto's call.
A streak of lightning burst forth from the hammer, tearing upward into the black vortex overhead. Thunder roared, lightning surged, and bolt after bolt rained down, as though the storm was welcoming its new master—the God of Thunder reborn.
Even Haruto found himself surprised.
"So light…" he murmured. In his grip, Mjolnir weighed no more than a feather.
On instinct, he hurled it.
The hammer shot off like a cannonball, vanishing into the horizon in the blink of an eye.
Coulson's scalp went numb. He just threw it away? That's Thor's divine weapon!
The crowd gasped collectively. Some clutched their heads, unable to process what they were seeing. Had this boy suddenly become a god? Why did the hammer fly like that?
But just as confusion spread, Mjolnir returned.
A voice cried out first—then everyone turned, eyes widening further as they saw the hammer streaking back… not from the direction it had been thrown, but from the exact opposite side of the sky.
Did it just circle the Earth?
Was such a thing even possible?
Haruto didn't rush. His hand remained outstretched, his body turning smoothly.
BOOM!
Lightning cracked as the hammer slammed back into his grasp, his fingers closing firmly around the handle.
In that instant, Mjolnir had truly completed its orbit around the planet.
"You… you did it."
Coulson's throat worked as he struggled for words. It took him several seconds before he managed to get the sentence out.
Haruto, however, looked utterly calm. As though this was all routine.
Relaxing his fingers, he let Mjolnir drop. The hammer sank back into the crater with a dull thud.
Above, the storm clouds broke apart. Within seconds, the desert sky was once again a pristine blue, as if nothing had ever happened.
But for everyone present, the shock was seared deep into their souls.
When Coulson rushed forward, the tourists finally snapped out of their daze. Applause erupted—loud, thunderous, rolling across the site like a wave. Dozens of people surged toward Haruto, cheering, laughing, cracking open beers to celebrate the impossible sight they had just witnessed.
A few even tried their own luck with Mjolnir again. Unsurprisingly, none of them could budge it—not even the burly man who had tried earlier.
He turned to Haruto instead, eyes wide with awe, asking how it felt, how he had managed it.
"Feel?" Haruto tilted his head, a faint smile tugging at his lips. "There wasn't much to it. I just picked it up… like any ordinary hammer."
His tone lightened, but his gaze turned thoughtful.
"But don't mistake me for its master," he added softly. "I was only… a passerby."
The words rippled through the crowd like a stone cast into water. Confusion erupted.
He had lifted the hammer—why wasn't he claiming it? If he wasn't Mjolnir's master, then who was?
Only Coulson seemed to grasp the deeper meaning. Haruto's words weren't random. They were a warning. A reminder.
The true gods of Asgard would come for it.
And across the cosmos, the ripples of Haruto's actions spread outward, reaching farther than any of them could imagine.